B.S., Arizona State University, 2005 Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010 NASA Postdoctoral Fellow, 2011-2013 Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, 2011-2016 Tosteson Postdoctoral Fellow, 2014-2015
Our laboratory works on ways to use DNA and RNA in ways beyond their well-known role in biology as information carriers. These molecules can also act as "aptamers" - DNA or RNA molecules that bind a specific target, such as a small molecule, or even a specific type of cell. Our lab uses aptamers as tools to study biology and human disease. We use aptamers in a range of applications. Two current projects include 1) fluorescent aptamer probes to track RNA in cells and sense signaling molecules between populations of cells and 2) using aptamers to target specific cell types (e.g., cancer cells) in order to treat disease.